OK, Lakers. I
talked a big game about you this morning, let's see how you do a day later,
against the kids, in their playground. I am not enjoying the direction that
this analogy is moving in, so I'm moving on.

The Lakers and Trail Blazers have met three times this
season, with each team winning handily at home. Tonight's run will take place
in Portland, and even for the league's freshest
legs, heading from Orange County to Oregon
in 24 hours is no picnic. 23 hours, really. For a veteran Laker squad, working
without Phil Jackson (passing on this trip due to leg discomfort), it should be
a big test.

Portland's been at the top of the heap in offensive
efficiency for a few weeks now, the Lakers held that spot for most of the
season until mid-March before declining a bit, though the team's defense has
improved considerably even with Andrew Bynum on the pine. With the burly
7-footer back, however, things should get even better.

You can't say the same for Portland's defense, which has improved
slightly over the last two weeks, but has been ranked at about the same place
since December.

The interesting thing to me is that the closest comparison I
have for the Trail Blazers at this point is the first two years of the Steve
Nash, SSOL-Suns, who were tops in
offense but a little below the middle of the pack defensively. Of course,
because few mainstream scribes bother to learn about pace, we continually heard
about how the Suns' defense was pitiful, when in fact it was merely barely
below-average. The team's fast pace obscured things.

This time around, because the Trail Blazers are the slowest
team in the NBA, we never hear about this team's amazing offense. It truly is a
marvel to watch, not unlike Nate McMillan's final turn as SuperSonics head
coach, when his slow-paced Seattle
team was ranked just in back of the Suns and Heat for the best offense in the
NBA.

And yet, from the most possessions per game in the NBA, to
the fewest, the Suns and Trail Blazers are working at about the same rate. The
good thing for Portland
fans? They can improve. Steve Nash wasn't getting any quicker (we see that this
year, as the Suns drop to 26th in D) on defense, but the Trail
Blazer kids can get it together on that end, while sustaining that offense.

Enjoy the weekend, and feel free to comment away on the 26
games from here until Sunday night.